Texas Decoy Carving Get Together

S

Spencer

Member
As a senior Economics major at Baylor University, in Waco, TX, I do not get a chance to carve much. I spend most of my breaks, back home in Virginia, carving decoys and folk art, but most of my time is spent restoring old decoys. I do fit in some flat art, while at Baylor, when I find breaks in my schedule.

When Dave Speer invited me to his house 1 1/2 hours away, in Austin, I was eager to meet up with a fellow duck decoy carver. Like me, Dave is a self taught carver who makes decoys in his own style. We each have a passion for waterfowl and for decoy carving, and we spent many hours in the shop together a couple of weekends ago. His wife is an incredible cook, and I am sure that you will soon see her on a competitive cooking show on TV. I really enjoyed getting to spend a little bit of time with Dave, and I want to thank them for their generosity and hospitality!

Here are some photos from the weekend get together... I arrived on a Friday evening, and left early Sunday morning. I decided that I wanted to make a duck that I had never before made. I have made quite a few decoys and species, so it took some time to think of what to do. The Texan environment inspired me to make a "Texas Duck". I went with a Black Bellied Tree Duck. After looking at some photos on Google, I drew up a pattern. I cut the body out of basswood, and the head/neck out of sugar pine. We were up late, and I carved the head as we talked ducks.

I do not use sandpaper on any of my decoys. I like to leave the marks of a sharp knife and craftsmanship. This head is about 80% finished. I will add some detail to the bill, refine the head/neck, and carve texture into the back of the head.


 
The next morning, I carved the body and hollowed it out "old school"- with a hand drill. When I first began to carve, I hollowed my decoys with scorps. Then, I was fortunate to get my hands on a drill press and I have never looked back. I always write something inside of my decoys. It is usually, whatever is on my mind. With rare exceptions, I usually write some scripture inside of them before the glue up. I decided to document my first "Texas Duck", made in Texas.


 
Before the glue up. I usually use waterproof wood glue, and copper tacks. However, this time I got to use Dave's special epoxy mixture.


 
That was pretty much all that I could do on that bird for the weekend, as the epoxy takes about a day to cure. Dave let me pull out some paper and sketch some birds. Everyday, I try to practice my drawing. I really like going out and doing field sketches, but I also like to work on drawing from memory and getting my proportions right. Pintail were on my mind...

Note- I try to use black eyes as much as possible. To me, they look better than a dark colored eye with a pupil. You can see some home made black glass eyes in this photo- made from painting clear glass eyes.


 
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Saturday night, we were talking paint and Dave let me make a mess and paint a hen Redhead that he carved and had primed. I was on the road back to school, Sunday morning. Thanks for checking out this thread!

I still need to carve the epoxy off of the body, refine it a little, and carve some slight V-cut wings.


 
Hi, Spencer - and Dave~

I really enjoyed this post - and both your carving and drawing. I also liked the 2 Hens Dave posted on the 'bench.

One other thing: I, too, like solid black eyes - especially for gunners.

All the best,

SJS
 
I had a blast and I'm glad you took these pictures. While I took some close up pictures of "how someone else does it" I didn't really think to take "overviews" and this is nice to see!
 
Always cool to see DHBP members sharing knowledge and experience.

I will have to look y'all up next time I get out to the Austin area, I travel there for business every few years.
More often its Houston or Galveston though.
 
Steve,

Thanks for checking it out. I had a great time getting together with Dave. It's always neat seeing other carvers' shops and their carving processes.

I agree with you on the eyes!

Regards,

Spencer
 
Dave,

Hopefully, between the both of us we can piece together something to prove that some carving was done! Keep that steady pace going on the decoys.

Thanks again for having me,

Spencer
 
Carl,

Definitely look Dave up. I am from VA, go to college in TX, and I am going to graduate in December. Thus, I will not be down here much longer. Dave is a great guy to get together and talk ducks and decoys with. If you have any hunting spots, maybe you all can do some carving and shooting near the Gulf!

Thanks for checking everything out.

Spencer
 
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